I'm with flowerjoy...I've only ever used W&N - didn't know it was supposed to be difficult. With the exception of some charity quilts that require machine quilting, I only hand quilt and have only had issues when using a particularly thick thread or really dull needles. I use Roxanne #11 or #12 needles. Threads I try different things all the time. Depends on what colors I want for the quilt that I'm doing.